“It’s not my job.” T hat’s a phrase fraught with implications. Whom do you imagine saying this—someone who will do nothing unless it’s spelled out in a contract? That’s one rather disheartening interpretation. But this phrase has a potential second meaning. There may be a lot of tasks you’re doing right now that are not your job, such as things you should delegate or things that should never have been delegated to you. Delegating isn’t limited only to executives, managers, and others with “power.” Even if you think you’re in no position to delegate, this chapter still has insights for you. To Whom Can You Delegate? The obvious answer is: to those you manage and/or supervise. This is delegating downward, when you have full authority over the person to whom you’re delegating. But keep this key con- 69 How to Delegate Effectively 6 Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 69 Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for Terms of Use. cept in mind: it succeeds only if you assign responsibilities to the right person. For convenience or because of a lack of choice, we’re sometimes forced to delegate to someone inap- propriate for the task. This may be the single greatest cause of failure. Inappropriate delegation can lead to unsatisfactory results or to employees who hide behind their job descriptions. Targeting the right person for the job should be your main priority. And if there’s no appropriate person, you may have to hire one. Delegation isn’t always downward. It can be sideways (later- al), too. That’s the situation when you and the person to whom you’re delegating are more or less equal in rank or level of authority. Here are two examples of delegating laterally: You write easily and well, but hate to talk on the phone. Meanwhile, a colleague hates writing but is a master of phone skills. Consider swapping responsibilities, if there’s enough flexi- bility in your organization to do so. You don’t want to avoid developing necessary skills, of course, but it doesn’t makes sense not to match tasks with aptitudes and inter- ests if possible. You have a client who will be coming to town to discuss a Time Management70 The Economics of Delegation A critical rule about delegation is this: whenever possible, del- egate tasks to the person who is paid the least yet has the nec- essary skills and training to perform the task. Most often, when someone is paid to do a job that someone who earns less could do as well, money is wasted.The most economical— in every sense—use of an employee’s time is in performing tasks that are at the high end of his or her ability and training. This includes you. So when you fail to delegate a task others could do as efficiently, your own value to the company is diminished, as well as the value to the company of the person to whom you might have delegated it. Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 70 contract. You find dealing with this individual very trying and time-consuming, because you find him overbearing and unfocused. However, one of your colleagues finds the client delightful. Why not delegate the meeting to your colleague? You can always return the favor another time, perhaps when you’re less pressed for time. This section has identified two directions of delegation: downward and lateral. But there’s a third, unexpected direction, as well: upward (see Figure 6-1 on the next page). Sometimes someone above you assigns you a responsibility that shouldn’t be yours. Other times, someone delegates to you so incompletely that you can’t possibly perform the task com- petently. Should you try to delegate the job back? Yes, if you do it very diplomatically. Here’s the trick. Go to the person involved to seek “guidance.” Express your enthusiasm about the project, but say that you feel you don’t yet fully grasp the intent, proce- dures, or goals. Clarification might eliminate your need to dele- gate upward. Or your feedback may make the other person realize that he or she shouldn’t have delegated this task, that he or she is the appropriate person to do it. You might even sug- How to Delegate Effectively 71 Outsourcing Another form of delegating is outsourcing—hiring vendors for a fee to do certain jobs instead of assigning them to staff employees. Corporate downsizing has made outsourcing an increasing- ly powerful management tool. Many self-employed professionals offer their services, including such skills as clerical, computer programming, graphic design, and technical or management consulting. Often, firms will hire consultants to head a specific project or to create a new product. Temporary and part-time workers are easy to locate through agen- cies that specialize in their services. If a time-consuming task will take valuable time to complete and will be worth less to your company than warranted by your salary, perhaps it’s time to consider outsourc- ing the project. Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 71 gest that a colleague would be better suited to the task (though you should clear it with your colleague first). Delegating upward may be risky; then, again, boldness mixed with diplomacy can work wonders. Moreover, if the task is really outside your area of expertise, you’ll be doing everyone (yourself included) a favor by finding a way to direct it toward someone better suited. Delegating upward isn’t always a matter of trying to “pass the buck” back to someone. Sometimes it’s a matter of finding a way to pass it forward to someone better equipped to do it. If someone other than your boss asks you to do something you really don’t have the authority to do, it’s to everyone’s benefit to suggest that your boss is probably better suited to the task. Delegating to your boss is sometimes the smartest thing you can do. Time Management72 Upward Yo uSideways Sideways Consultant Downward Temp Employees Figure 6-1. How can you delegate? Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 72 What Can You Delegate? What types of tasks should you delegate? Two categories come to mind: 1. Tasks you don’t want but that others might. 2. Tasks for which someone else might be better qualified. A good place to begin exploring delegating possibilities is with a list of daily tasks—particularly routine ones—that might fit into either of the above categories. If you can find even one or two routine tasks that you might be able to delegate, you’ll free up time to do those things you simply cannot delegate. Why Is It Hard to Delegate? Why is it so hard to delegate? One possible reason: dark, irra- tional thoughts may block the path. Here are six key reasons people give for not delegating a task. Ask yourself which ones most often apply to you. How to Delegate Effectively 73 Don’t Waste Your Time Most tasks that cost more for you to do than for someone else are a waste of your time.Your value as an employee, manager, business owner, or officer consists in those special skills that you alone bring to your job. So what kinds of tasks could you consider delegating or outsourc- ing, to maximize your value to the company? Some obvious examples: • Database management • Filing/clerical work • Research • Proofreading • Telephone calls for simple information • Making appointments • Word processing • Sales and marketing • Computer programming There are many other kinds of duties or tasks that you may find smart to delegate. Anything that can be done by someone who is paid less than you would be a prime task to delegate or outsource. Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 73 1. I’ll lose control of the task. 2. I’m the only person who can do it right. 3. I’ll look bad for giving it to someone else. 4. I’m afraid that I don’t have the authority to delegate. 5. If the person to whom I delegate the task succeeds, I may become dispensable. 6. I just never thought of it. Once you’ve pinpointed the emotional barriers to delegating, you should feel freer to consider the possibility of assigning duties to others. Only in very rare instances are the above rea- sons for not delegating actually valid—and that’s usually when you’re the appropriate person for the job. One final point: some people tend to overdelegate. It’s their way of shirking responsibility. That’s poor motivation. Another sin—to simply forget about a project once you assign it. A reminder: delegate, don’t abdicate. The Key Steps of Delegation Deciding to delegate is a minor part of the battle. Doing it right is a much bigger challenge. Time Management74 Let Go! Most frequently, the reluctance to delegate is an expres- sion of the need to retain control. As we pointed out ear- lier, attaining and holding control of situations is a necessary element of good time management, because it’s impossible to make efficient use of time when you’re at the mercy of people and situations outside your control. However, if you insist on retaining control of every detail of the situ- ations you’re responsible for, you’re failing to understand the real nature and benefits of control. An important measure of your influ- ence may be how well you can exert your authority in a way that allows you to extend that authority. Unless you can relinquish control of little things, you have little hope of extending your command over the big things. Sometimes, paradoxically, the only way to take control is to relinquish control over details that take up your precious time. Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 74 Delegating poorly leads almost invariably to disappointment, frustration, inefficiency, and, often, failure. Then, the manager may blame the person to whom he or she delegated the task, causing bad feelings, and not improve the way he or she dele- gates, so the delegation problems continue, in a downward spi- ral. Failure may also serve to reinforce all the delegation blocks listed earlier. Here are 12 steps for masterful delegation: 1. Identify the task to be delegated. Once you’ve freed your mind from thoughts that defeat delegation, this step should become the easiest of all. 2. Trace out, on paper, the assigned project’s flow. If the task is simple, this should be easy. If it’s complicated, you may need to deploy a system similar to that described in Chapter 4. As an added help to you, the necessary steps of delegation are flowcharted in Figure 6-2. If you assign work to a number of employees (either as part of a team project or each working on something different), be How to Delegate Effectively 75 Communication Skills When you need to delegate a task, good communication skills are vital—not only tact and sensitivity, but also the ability to specify exactly what you’re asking the other person to do. Here are some of the most common skills displayed by good com- municators: • They make eye contact. • They treat people with respect. • They listen as carefully as they speak. • They organize their thoughts before they speak. • They avoid using unnecessary jargon or technical terms. • They don’t assume. • They encourage questions. • They ask for feedback. • They avoid speaking when they’re angry. Good communication skills are essential to effective delegation, because miscommunication can result in poor performance or resent- ment. Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 75 sure to track your task assignments. Keep a record of the task delegated and the date you made the assignment, as well as dates for status review and task completion. 3. Find the right person. Once you’ve flowcharted the job, you should be in a better position to assign it to the right person. Be open-minded. Don’t be constrained by existing roles. For exam- ple, the janitor might be just the right person to spearhead that new safety committee. It’s important to be aware of the unique talents and apti- tudes of the people you work with and who work for you. Very often, people are capable of performing tasks—and would enjoy being asked to perform them—that no one has ever asked them to do. Those things that you know particular employees do well Time Management76 Start Identify Task Delegation Chart Chart Flow Find the Right Person Explain Assignment Explain Benefits Specify Standards Establish Reporting Method Encourage Questions Create Summarizing Document Conduct Status Checks Not in place Deadline Report Evaluate Results Praise/Suggest Improvements End In place Figure 6-2. Delegation flowchart Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 76 TEAMFLY Team-Fly ® might serve as clues to those things that they’ve never done but for which they might have a hidden aptitude. The better you are at assessing the talents of those you manage—or of col- leagues—the more successful you’ll be at delegating. 4. Explain the assignment. Imagine trying to bake something with only half the recipe. You’re virtually doomed to failure. And failure to lay out a careful and complete explanation of any task represents a sure recipe for disaster. Sit down with the person to whom you’ve delegated and walk through your flowchart’s steps. Encourage questions. (A monologue rarely achieves clear communication.) 5. Explain the benefits. Everyone is concerned with the WIIFM—the What’s in It for Me?—before buying something or buying into something. If you want to defuse resistance to the task you’re delegating (and the it’s-not-my-job syndrome), make liberal use of bene- fits language. 6. Specify your standards. Quality and accountability are two concepts that should guide all of your delegating. As when you create goals, you must convince the person to whom you delegate that you hold high expectations. Since you’re sharing responsibility with him or her, you expect the best effort. Until his or her per- formance meets your stan- dards, the task will remain incomplete. 7. Discuss deadlines. Has anyone ever given you a job to do without a completion date? Did it somehow feel less important? How to Delegate Effectively 77 Features and Benefits The following axiom is basic to almost all sales: don’t sell the features, sell the benefits. It applies to delegation, too. Don’t just outline the aspects of a task without giving rea- sons that motivate. Sure, maybe you have the authority to delegate the task, but selling it through the benefits to the person means that he or she is likely to con- sider it less an imposition and more an opportunity. And any smart man- ager knows the difference that makes in motivation and performance. Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 77 Deadlines help firm up prioritization. When you delegate, always set deadlines, including intermediary status review dates. Entertain input from the person you delegate to. If you empow- er the person in the process, by sharing responsibility from the start, you’ll reinforce his or her motivation. 8. Establish a reporting method. To leave vague the reporting methods for intermediary and final deadlines is dangerous. Must feedback be written? Oral? Lengthy? Summarized? Articulate your expectations to the person you delegate to. Doing so will ensure professional, responsible, and orderly feedback. An added advantage: if written, the report can be easily shared with others. 9. Encourage questions. At the end of your explanation, encourage the person to ask any questions that may be still unvoiced. If none are forthcoming, do a comprehension check; have the person summarize the assignment as he or she under- stands it. You’ll almost certainly need to clarify some details. You may even wish to “walk” the person through the task. This is a powerful, hands-on method for testing his or her compre- hension of the job. Now is also the time to offer trade-offs if you get the it’s-not-my-job reaction. Finally, summarize steps 4 through 9 in a brief, written memo to the person and, if appro- priate, send a copy to your boss. Time Management78 Providing Resources When you delegate a task, you need to make sure the per- son has everything necessary to perform the task: • Sufficient authority to make necessary decisions. If a certain amount of autonomy saves you time, a reasonable level of autonomy will save time for the person you’re delegating to. Also, if the person needs to come to you for decisions, how much effort and time are you saving by delegating? • Access to all resources necessary for the task. The person should not have to ask for access, one item at a time.That’s a waste of time, for both of you, and not smart delegation. Mancini06.qxd 1/16/2003 1:25 PM Page 78 [...]... recognize the effort, suggest improvements for next time, and transform the whole process into a learning experience for you and for the person to whom you delegated Delegating is a subtle art It requires careful thought and wisdom Each solution to a delegating problem must match the needs of the people involved Effective delegation is a key concept in time management And it’s an old lesson (Consider this,... benefits? • Was this the right person for this task? Would you delegate to this person again? • Was the final report thorough? • Was your emotional reluctance to delegate extinguished? If not, why not? 80 Time Management 12 Praise/Suggest Improvements Physically, it’s not easy to pat yourself on the back Emotionally, it’s very easy Delegating was an achievement for you If you succeeded, congratulate yourself...How to Delegate Effectively 79 Meetings? When delegating large projects, sometimes it’s a good idea to have periodic meetings to assess progress Be careful, however, not to micromanage via meetings or committees Remember: the camel has been sardonically defined as “a horse built... to the task.) But there’s another important way to avoid unwanted or inappropriate work—learning to say “no.” Is it really feasible? Yes—and Chapter 7 will show you how Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 6 ❏ You can delegate not only downward, but also laterally and upward ❏ Delegate tasks you don’t like but that others might like and tasks for which others are better qualified than you ❏ To delegate effectively, . boss is sometimes the smartest thing you can do. Time Management7 2 Upward Yo uSideways Sideways Consultant Downward Temp Employees Figure 6- 1. How can you delegate? Mancini 06. qxd 1/ 16/ 2003 1:25. over the person to whom you’re delegating. But keep this key con- 69 How to Delegate Effectively 6 Mancini 06. qxd 1/ 16/ 2003 1:25 PM Page 69 Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click. Benefits Specify Standards Establish Reporting Method Encourage Questions Create Summarizing Document Conduct Status Checks Not in place Deadline Report Evaluate Results Praise/Suggest Improvements End In place Figure 6- 2. Delegation flowchart Mancini 06. qxd 1/ 16/ 2003 1:25 PM Page 76 TEAMFLY